Harvest Fair Puts Food First in Wine Country Event

Details on the upcoming which starts later this month, are emerging at last.

There will be new events, new awards, and a renewed emphasis on food -- including specialty food trucks, a Hispanic cook-off, and the addition of food to the former “wine store” at the Fair to create an expanded Food and Wine Marketplace.

The Harvest Fair officially runs from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, but there are several lead-up events earlier in the month.

First and foremost is the Harvest Fair Awards Dinner on Saturday, Sept. 24, when the much-coveted Wine Awards will be announced along with several agricultural awards. For the most part this will be an industry event, with the public enjoyment of the winning wines and foods delayed until the Fair’s Grand Tasting event on Sept. 30.

The Grand Tasting is the second “new event” that Harvest Fair president sees as a way to “bring vitality back to the Harvest Fair.”

“It will be a festive yet relaxed environment on a Friday night,” she continued. “Owners and vintners will be present pouring their wines, as will the award-winning chefs, so there will be greater opportunity for the public to learn about the wines and food first-hand.”

In the past, a $40 ticket got you more award-winning wines than you could count -- or taste -- in a confused, crowded and loud (if festive) awards hall. This year’s first-ever Grand Tasting event gets started at 5:30 p.m., with the award-winning wines announced a week earlier, connoisseurs will have more time to chart their tasting itinerary.

True, the price is now $60 (including Fair admission), but with the addition of the to the Grand Tasting, there’s more to sample (and the opportunity to get something in your stomach along with the wine on your palate) .

Fair organizers are going for “a more Sonoma County thematic ambiance, and a more relaxed feel,” according to Gewirtz. Unlimited tastes of medaled foods (olive oils, artisan cheeses, specialty foods and dishes, breads, etc.) as well as wines will be offered with the chefs and vintners who made them on hand to explain their process.

Another way that food is brought more clearly into focus and on par with wine is the “Hispanic cook-off” set for Sunday, October 2 at 4 p.m., after the last chef demo in the Showcase Restaurant area of the fair. The cook-off will include several local chefs known for their ability to create authentic Hispanic dishes, appropriate to our increasingly diverse region. Among the judges will be county supervisor , who knows how to count votes as well as anybody.

Then there are the food trucks. Who would have suspected that the lowly “taco truck” would evolve into a nouveau cuisine phenomenon, but in the last couple years that’s exactly what’s happened.

Now it’s called “mobile cuisine,” and there will be several such at the Harvest Fair on Saturday and Sunday  – in addition to “the traditional dishes served up by other food purveyors familiar to long-time fairgoers,”  as their press release has it. (Meaning you’ll still be able to get sno-cones and corn dogs, don’t worry.)

Featured food trucks will include Karma Mobile Indian, Charlie Bruno's Chuck Wagon with what they call “mobile comfort food,” and Ultra Crepes serving sweet and savory crepes made to order. Other specialty food vendors include Street-eatz with globally inspired dishes and the Matchbox Diner’s southern-style barbecue and sides.

But wait, that’s not all.

There will be special events in wine-tasting, local microbrews, and a chocolate and port pairings event, all with separate admission. There are also a livestock area, school tours and kids’ “ag-tivities,” and the World Championship Grape Stomp on Sunday. Fun, as they say, for the whole Sonoma County family.

More information about this year’s Sonoma County Harvest Fair is on their website at www.harvestfair.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SonomaCountyHarvestFair